


i'm a little unsteady (hold onto me)

by gilligankane



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 03:38:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4206534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gilligankane/pseuds/gilligankane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beca always wanted a pet growing up. There was just too much work involved. But Chloe texts her and tells her there's a Legacy, a freshman, joining them. Beca can’t take care of a freshman. She just can’t. Most days she can’t even take care of herself.</p>
<p>aka, Five Times Beca and Chloe 'Mom' the Legacy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i'm a little unsteady (hold onto me)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dealan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dealan/gifts).
  * Inspired by [(i get by) with a little help from my friends](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4039435) by [gilligankane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gilligankane/pseuds/gilligankane). 



> a semi-companion to "(i get by) with a little help from my friends"

Chloe Beale is a habitually annoying texter. She doesn’t just text once; she sends her thoughts in short spurts of text with too many exclamation points, random capitalization, and a plethora of emoticons that dance across Beca’s screen annoyingly, winking at her and smiling.

 

_Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz_.

 

Beca’s phone goes off the entire time it takes her to get of 95 and back onto the exit ramp.

 

When she gets off the exit and to the stoplight, she fishes her phone out of the cup holder and thumbs in her password. Seven texts from Chloe.

 

**Chloe** (8:03:17): there’s a LEGACY at the door

 

**Chloe** (8:05:43): shes auditioning! shes not that bad!

 

**Chloe** (8:05: 54): shes not that bad! flat BUT potENtial.

 

**Chloe** (8:07:21): WE HAVe A LEGACCCCy!!!!!!1!

 

**Chloe** (8:07:24): we can compete we can compete we can compete

 

**Chloe** (8:09:04): where are you??!?! we're going to the trebles

 

**Chloe** (8:09:36): watch OUT acabitches. we got ourselves a LEGACY

 

The car behind Beca honks. She startles and her foot hits the gas. She shoots across the intersection, throwing a hand up behind her at the other driver.

 

“Whatever,” she mumbles. She drops her phone back into her cup holder and taps the steering wheel.

 

A _legacy_. Beca doesn’t even know what means. Well, she can figure out the meaning of the word, but she’s never heard it in the acapella world. She mentally starts a list to look up the rules but scratches that in favor of asking Chloe, who has the rulebook memorized from the cheesy cover to the credits at the back.

 

Beca sighs as she crosses the line into the Barden campus. If this is the first time she’s hearing about this legacy, the girl must be a freshman. And if she’s a freshman, she’s going to be young and probably inexperienced and she’s going to be just out of her Justin Beiber phase.

 

_Oh, god_ , Beca thinks. _She’s going to be a runt with no direction and no experience and this is going to be awful_.

 

She puts her car in park and rests her head against the steering wheel. A huge part of her wants to crawl into the house and into Chloe’s bed – it’s bigger – and wait for her to come back from the party so they can talk. But the other part of her knows she needs to head over to tiki-town, say hi to Jesse, and meet this Legacy so she knows what she’s getting herself into.

 

So Beca musters up any ounce of enthusiasm she can, braces herself, and ducks under the bushes between the houses to go find out exactly what Chloe has gotten them into.

 

\---

 

Beca never had any pets growing up.

 

She wanted one, or a few. It always went back and forth between a puppy, a kitten, an iguana, and a pony. A pet was better than a little brother or sister, she figured, because pets didn’t wear diapers. Her cousin Heather always had a diaper on and it smelled all the time.

 

Beca’s dad was all for a pet. She would come home, outlining a new pet and a new name and he’d follow along with her, coming up with tricks he could teach a pony, or how maybe the cat could learn to sign for food.

 

He always followed it up with the ‘you will be responsible for it’ speech. _Bastard_.

 

It was a long-winded speech. Professor Mitchell was fond of those. It outlined all the reasons why having a pet can be a bother. It listed all the ways in which pets could destroy a house. A pony, for instance, could break all of Beca’s mother’s good china with just a swish of its tail. A puppy would eat all of Beca’s sneakers. A kitten would make Beca’s dad sneeze all day and all night. Beca would have to feed them, bathe them, give them exercise, snuggle them, clean up their messes, and train them.

 

_It’s the same idea with a baby_ , Professor Mitchell had said.

 

The idea of responsibility scared Beca out of the idea of having a pet. She watched her dad fade out of the picture, dropping his responsibilities into her mom’s lap unceremoniously. Beca started to take care of herself, and then her mom when her dad inevitably left.

 

Both of them ended up as sarcastic, emotionally-not-always-available women with too much attitude and not enough vitamin D in their systems.

 

Beca can’t take care of a freshman. She just can’t.

 

Most days she can’t even take care of herself.

 

\---

 

“She can’t go out with him.” Beca crosses her arms over her chest, trying to signal the end of the conversation.

 

Chloe isn’t one for picking up on those kinds of cues, though. For someone so smart, someone so into people, she does an awful job of reading body language.

 

(Chloe argues that she can read it, she just ignores it. Like Russian Lit.)

 

“Beca, you’re being ridiculous.”

 

Chloe pours water from a screaming kettle into two large mugs. Beca dunks both tea bags for a little while, while Chloe gets out the honey and measures two tablespoons apiece. They move around each other. Beca stirs the tea once the honey is in and then puts the spoons in the sink. Chloe puts the honey away and hands a mug to Beca before waltzing into the living room to sit down.

 

“I’m not being ridiculous.”

 

Chloe tips her head to the side, challenging Beca.

 

“I’m not,” Beca insists. “It’s a rule.”

 

“It’s a stupid rule. It’s not even a real rule,” Chloe argues. “Aubrey made that rule up her freshman year when _Bumper_ dumped her after Hood Night.”

 

Beca sputters a little, the mental image of Bumper and Aubrey searing into the back of her eyes. She gags on the tea bag that snuck into her sip. “Wh-what?”

 

Chloe waves a hand dismissively. “It was a weekend thing. It was nothing. But Aubrey made that dumb rule up after the whole thing. So, your argument holds no water.”

 

Beca settles back into the couch. “Chloe Beale, are you telling me that you are declaring that we throw-over the fiercest Bella tradition?”

 

Chloe rolls her eyes. “Har, har, Mitchell. The point is, it’s a stupid rule. You’re being ridiculous. She can go out with him.” Chloe leans her head over the couch and raises her voice. “You can go out with him, Legacy!”

 

Emily pops her head around the doorframe. “Thanks, Chloe.” She squeals as she bounds up the stairs towards Stacie’s room.

 

“No you can’t!” Beca yells after her. She sighs when a door slams. “When she comes back down here, I’m telling her she can’t go.”

 

Chloe laughs and turns on the TV, flipping channels absently. “You know,” she hums. “ _You’re_ dating a Treble.”

 

“So?” Beca challenges.

 

Chloe shrugs, peeking at Beca out of the corner of her eye. “So you’re being a hypocrite.”

 

Beca opens her mouth to argue back but Chloe’s eyes have that edge to them she sometimes gets, when she’s looking for someone to confront her about something. It’s like she’s daring Beca to say something. Her mouth is parted slightly, a response to whatever Beca can come up with on the tip of her tongue.

 

So Beca closes her mouth around her tea and takes a large sip and leans to one side. She winds her arm through Chloe’s and drops her head to Chloe’s shoulder as Chloe keeps flipping channels.

 

Emily comes flying down the stairs as Chloe decides to watch ‘The Princess Bride’ and screeches to a halt in front of them. “What do you think?” she asks, tugging at a shirt that definitely belongs to Stacie.

 

Chloe nods her approval and reminds Emily that they have a competition tomorrow, so she shouldn’t drink too much. “And don’t be home too late,” she adds, when Beca elbows her gently.

 

The door slams shut behind Emily and the house is quiet again.

 

“Benji is a nice guy,” Beca says quietly after a few minutes of silence.

 

Chloe hums her agreement and turns to press a kiss to Beca’s forehead.

 

If Beca’s eyes flutter closed, just for a minute, she’d never admit it.

 

\---

 

Chloe growls under her breath and clenches her fists together. Beca winces just a little and rests her hand against Chloe’s beck, drumming her fingers lightly to the white noise they’re playing now that Das Sound Machine is done blowing them out of the water.

 

“It’s okay, Chlo,” she murmurs. Her hand slides across Chloe’s back to her opposite hip, gripping lightly.

 

“An original song,” Chloe repeats for the seventh time since the gong went off on them. “An original song.”

 

Emily is a few feet away from them, toeing the floor. She spares a glance at Chloe and immediately drops her head again. Even through the dancing bodies, Beca can see that her eyes are wide and wet at the edges. She gives Emily what she hopes is a reassuring smile and steers Chloe out of the center of the crowd into the corner.

 

Chloe growls again, her eyes squeezed tight.

 

“Okay, Kujo,” Beca soothes, working on unclenching Chloe’s fists. “I know you’re upset. But it’s not her fault. It’s mine.”

 

Chloe’s eyes snap open. “ _You_ didn’t sing an original song in a riff off against the biggest rivals we’ve ever faced. _Emily_ did.”

 

Beca takes a second to collect Chloe’s flying hands. She pulls them to her chest and holds them tight. “Okay. Take a deep breath with me. Ready?” She breathes deeply, over-exaggerating until Chloe mimics her twice. “Good. Good. Listen, this is our fault. We… we haven’t done nearly enough singing. We can’t blame her.”

 

Beca feels like she’s eight again. Her mom and dad are in the living room staring at what used to be her mom’s favorite vase. She’s on the stairs, shrinking into the railing while her mom rants.

 

_How could she? That vase was my favorite!_

 

Her dad is rubbing her mom’s shoulders. _She’s a kid_ , he says. _It was an accident_.

 

“It was an accident,” she tells Chloe. She puts her hands on Chloe’s shoulders, her thumbs under Chloe’s chin until Chloe looks at her. “Okay? It was an accident. We’ll teach her the right way and she’ll do better next time.”

 

Chloe stares at her for so long that Beca starts to shift her weight foot to foot. Finally, Chloe sighs, her shoulders falling in defeat. “I scared her, didn’t I?”

 

Beca grins. “A little bit, Chuck Norris.”

 

Chloe frowns. “Chuck Norris? Really?”

 

“You’re both gingers,” Beca explains, her smile growing wider.

 

Chloe groans and grabs at her weakly. She ends up looping her arms around Beca’s waist, tugging her in close. Their foreheads are pressed together and Chloe is grinning down at her. Beca licks her lips.

 

“Becaw!”

 

Beca startles at Jesse’s greeting. Chloe’s smile is gone instantly. She twists out of Chloe’s arms and puts space between them, suddenly aware of how close they were to begin with.

 

Jesse fills the empty space as soon as he reaches them, throwing an errant arm across Beca’s shoulders, grinning at her. “The Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers!” He looks up at Chloe. “How cool is that?”

 

“Cool,” Beca echoes.

 

Chloe looks past her, at Emily. “I’m gonna…” She points at Emily. “I’ll go talk to her.”

 

Beca reaches out to squeeze Chloe’s arm as she passes but Jesse spins her too quickly out of the way.

 

“We _have_ to go say hi.”

 

Beca agrees and follows him, but her eyes stay locked on Chloe and Emily for the rest of the night.

 

\---

 

Emily won’t let this singing thing go. Beca gets it, she does. They’re an acapella group, they sing. And they aren’t right now, while Chloe works on choreography and Beca tries to put her life together. So singing is on the backburner right now.

 

Everyone gets it. Everyone except Emily.

 

“I just don’t understand. Isn’t making music with our mouths the whole point of acapella?”

 

Beca grinds her back teeth against each other and takes a deep, controlled breath. “Yes, it is.”

 

“Then why haven’t we been singing anything?”

 

“It’s more than that, Legacy.”

 

Emily steps into her way as Beca tries to pick up her binder. “I just don’t understand,” she repeats.

 

Beca sighs. “You don’t have to understand. You just need to come to practice.”

 

“But we’re not practicing anything! It’s not fair!”

 

Beca looks up at her, eyes wide. Across the room, Chloe’s head snaps around. She takes a few steps towards them, breaking her conversation with Flo. She takes quick steps towards them, appearing at Beca’s shoulder.

 

“Excuse me?” Beca manages to squeak out.

 

“It’s not fair! We haven’t done _any_ singing. We’re just marching around uselessly!” Emily stomps her foot once.

 

“Hold it right there, young lady,” Chloe snaps. She puts up her hand when Emily opens her mouth to protest. “No. Shelf it. This is the Bellas. We don’t throw temper tantrums.”

 

Beca feels it’s pointless to mention that Aubrey routinely threw temper tantrums.

 

“And we sure don’t attack our captain when we have a problem,” Chloe continues. “Now, you owe her an apology.”

 

“No she doesn’t,” Beca insists.

 

Chloe puts her hands on her hips and stares at Emily pointedly.

 

“I’m sorry,” Emily finally murmurs. Her shoulders drop. “I’m just confused about what we’re doing. It doesn’t seem like we’re doing _any_ singing.”

 

“That’s my fault,” Beca admits. She drops to the piano bench heavily. Chloe’s hand rests on her shoulder. She squeezes once, reassuringly. Beca taps the other end of the bench, signaling Emily to sit. “I’ve been a little unfocused lately. You’re right, we haven’t been singing. And it’s on me to put together the mix. So if I don’t put the mix together, there’s nothing to sing.”

 

“It’s okay, Becs,” Chloe cuts in. She starts to knead at Beca’s neck. It’s intoxicating; all of Beca’s tension lives there in the back of her neck and it’s been on red alert since she started her internship. Her eyes flutter closed reflexively. Chloe digs her knuckles into the knots there and works them out.

 

“It’s not okay,” Beca manages to say. Her brain is misfiring; Chloe hits a particularly sensitive spot and Beca sees stars. She groans and drops her chin to her chest, giving Chloe more access. She can see Emily’s feet. They tap the floor impatiently. “I’ll have it done soon, I swear. I just… It needs–”

 

“To be perfect,” Chloe finishes. “I know, Beca. It’s okay.”

 

“It’s totally fine,” Emily echoes. “I just got a little upset. I had all these ideas of what the Bellas would be and I think I’m just impatient. I’m sorry.”

 

Chloe’s hands leave Beca’s neck and migrate to her shoulders, squeezing rhythmically. “We get it, Em. We do. Don’t we, Bec?”

 

Beca accomplishes nodding. Her whole body feels like it’s melting under Chloe’s fingertips. She cracks one eye open in time to see Emily nodding and smiling sheepishly at her. “Seriously, Legacy. It’s fine.”

 

Emily brightens and straightens up. “Okay. I’m gonna, go, I guess. See you guys tonight.”

 

Chloe keeps digging into her shoulders as the door shuts behind Emily. “She didn’t mean to yell at you.”

 

“I know she didn’t.”

 

“She knows you’re on top of the music.”

 

“I know I am.”

 

“She’s just a kid.”

 

Beca smiles softly and reaches up, putting her hand over Chloe’s. “I know, Chlo. I’m not mad at her. If I’m mad at anyone, it’s me. I still haven’t done the mix.” She sighs. “I can’t find the sound. I’m stuck.”

 

“You’re tense,” Chloe notes. “Really tense.” She digs her fingers in deeply before she releases. “Do you need help?”

 

Beca rolls her neck, stretching it out. She turns on the bench. Chloe is in front of her now, standing between Beca’s legs. “You just helped.”

 

Chloe smiles shyly. “Good.” There’s a beat of silence. “You know you’re my favorite, right?”

 

Beca looks at their hands, already tangling together tightly. This happens a lot, Beca noticed. Whenever they’re near each other, their hands meet and lace and almost nothing separates them. She looks up at Chloe. “I know, Chlo.”

 

The door to the rehearsal rooms opens again. “Hey, Amy is about to breakdance with some kid and it doesn’t look great. Can you guys…”

 

Chloe rolls her eyes and pulls Beca up off the piano bench, hands still laced together.

 

\---

 

Beca isn’t sure what she would do without Chloe.

 

As much as she’s exasperated that Chloe can’t pass Russian Lit – and a little pissed, really, because she didn’t even take the damn class but she spent all of her Junior year auditing it so she could help Chloe study – she’s really glad Chloe is still here, still a Bella, and still at her side.

 

She can barely keep track of her own stuff, let alone Cynthia Rose’s and Stacie’s _and_ Emily’s.

 

Emily loses her things a lot.

 

“What do you meant that you lost your hairtie?” Beca squeezes her eyes shut tightly. “What do you mean you _lost_ your hairtie?”

 

Emily’s eyes are blown wide, hair wild around her face. She twists her fingers together and bites her bottom lip. “I, uh, can’t find it. I lost it.”

 

“I know what _to lose_ mean, Legacy,” Beca growls. “This is great. Just great. We’re going to be a wreck up there and you lost your hairtie. Didn’t I tell you to pack extra? Didn’t I tell you to pack extra for your extra?”

 

Emily squeaks out something that sounds like ‘yes’.

 

“Do you even listen to me anymore?” Beca unzips her bag furiously. The zipper catches. “Great!” She tugs at it. “Just fucking great. Like this can get any better.”

 

As if on cue, Amy is standing in front of her, grinning widely. “Hey Cap’n. I might have forgotten that we were showcasing today and only have my swimsuit in my bag.” Amy turns quickly and bounds away towards her bag.

 

Beca looks up. “Your… swimsuit.” She growls and tugs angrily at the zipper again.

 

“Nevermind!” Amy shouts, pulling out the gold tracksuit. “Got it!”

 

Beca looks at Emily expectantly. “Well? Did you magically find your hairtie, Legacy?”

 

Emily shakes her head. Beca growls again.

 

“I told you,” she rants. “I told you three times before we left. Make sure you have your costume. Make sure you have your shoes. Make sure you have hairties, _Emily_. Make sure you don’t completely fall apart up there! I told you three goddamn times. _And this goddamn bag won’t open_!”

 

The bag is suddenly pulled out of her hands.

 

“Here, Emily,” Chloe says softly, handing Emily some hairties. “Ask Ashley to help you put it up. Don’t let Stacie do it.”

 

Emily scurries off in Ashley’s direction quickly, not even sparring a glance at Beca as she goes.

 

“Deep breaths, Becs,” Chloe instructs. “Come on. Breathe in. Breathe out.”

 

Beca follows along, closing her eyes and exhaling. She opens her eyes to find Chloe in front of her, inches from her face. “I spazzed,” she whispers. “I’m spazzing.”

 

“Full-on spaz,” Chloe agrees. “I’d find it cute if I wasn’t so concerned that Emily was going to wet her pants.”

 

Beca groans and drops her head to Chloe’s shoulder, feeling Chloe’s breath against her ear.

 

“It’s cute,” Chloe continues, rubbing small circles on Beca’s back. “It is,” she insists when Beca scoffs. She lowers her voice, almost mimicking Beca. “ _I told you to check before we left the house. Don’t you ever listen to me_?”

 

“I sound like her mother.” Beca groans. “I sound like _my_ mother.”

 

“You sound like a captain. A very stressed out, overworked, adorable captain.”

 

Beca lifts her head to look at Chloe. “I’m a badass.”

 

Chloe smirks. “Sure you are.”

 

“I am.”

 

“Mhmm.”

 

“I _am_.”

 

Someone clears their throat near them. Beca looks over at Emily expectantly. “I, uh, just wanted to let you know that my hair is done,” she says, pointing to her hair, tied back now.

 

Chloe presses a quick kiss to Beca’s forehead , muttering “be nice” and heads towards the rest of the team, leaving her alone with Emily. Beca smiles softly and reaches up to touch Emily’s hair, smoothing back a flyaway. “There. Perfect.”

 

Emily grins widely at her and follows her to the stairs of the stage.

 

\---

 

“She kissed him,” Beca hisses, pulling Chloe into the wings of the stage. The curtain surrounds them.

 

Chloe frowns at her. “What?”

 

“Emily. Benji. They _kissed_.” Beca shakes her head. “I am going to talk to her. She can’t just kiss him.”

 

Chloe barks out a laugh. “Oh god, Beca. Yes, she can. She’s eighteen.”

 

“He’s twenty-one,” Beca counters.

 

“They like each other. They can kiss.”

 

Beca shakes her head side to side. “No way. They can like each other but that doesn’t mean they need to kiss. She’s practically a child.”

 

“They’re the same number of years apart as we are,” Chloe points out. “And we like each other.”

 

“But we don’t kiss,” Beca points out triumphantly. She’s got Chloe there.

 

“No, we don’t,” Chloe agrees.

 

Her voice is suddenly tight, measured. She takes a step back from Beca, putting space between them. Beca watches her curiously; Chloe folds her arms over her chest and pulls back a flap of the curtain to peer out to the audience. Beca feels like she missed something. She tries to move closer but Chloe moves back.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

“Nothing,” Chloe says quickly.

 

“Something is.”

 

Chloe shrugs. “I’m fine. It’s fine. I’m nervous.”

 

Beca is shaking her head before Chloe finishes that sentence. “No. Nervous-Chloe fans herself and walks in circles and rants to herself. This is not Nervous-Chloe. This is… This is Secret-Chloe. You’re hiding something and you don’t want to tell me.”

 

“Why do you even know this stuff about me?”

 

Beca frowns. “Because you’re my best friend. I like you. I know things.”

 

Chloe scoffs. “You like me.”

 

“Of course I do.”

 

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

 

Beca tilts her head to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“Forget it, Beca.” Chloe makes a move to leave their curtained-off bubble but Beca intercepts her, closing the curtain tightly. “Please move.”

 

“Not a chance. I like you, so we’re staying and we’re talking.” Beca plants her feet, spreading them to shoulder-width. She doesn’t put it past Chloe to try and tackle her out of the way.

 

Chloe sighs. “I’ll move you.”

 

Beca puffs out her chest. “Try it, Norris.”

 

“You’re being ridiculous.”

 

“I’m not the one trying to avoid the conversation.”

 

Chloe crosses her arms over her chest again, staring down at Beca. “We need to get ready to go onstage. Leave Emily alone.”

 

“She can’t kiss him,” Beca insists.

 

“Just because you’re not kissing your Treble anymore doesn’t give you the right to ruin Emily’s potential relationship.”

 

Beca winces a little bit. She had told Chloe in confidence that her relationship with Jesse was fizzling out from a large flame to a small spark that didn’t always light. Chloe had pulled her in for a hug and told her that was okay, that it happened, and that it didn’t matter if they lasted or not because she would always be there.

 

Chloe sighs. “I’m sorry. That was mean.”

 

“Yeah, dude, kind of.” Beca is the one who takes a step back now, crossing her arms over her chest protectively. Chloe sighs again, softly, and steps closer, wrapping her hands around Beca’s arms and tugging until they come loose. She pulls Beca against her and squeezes her tightly.

 

“I’m sorry,” she says again.

 

Beca shrugs. “It’s fine.”

 

“I like you,” Chloe continues, as if she hasn’t even heard Beca. “You’re my best friend but I like you.”

 

Beca frowns. “I don’t think there’s supposed to be a ‘but’ in that sentence.”

 

“Beca,” Chloe sighs. “If you like someone, you can kiss them.”

 

“No. Legacy is-”

 

“I’m not talking about Emily,” Chloe interrupts. “I. Like. You.”

 

Beca blinks at Chloe, trying to wrap her head around the reason why Chloe would stress those three words. She tilts her head to one side and squints. Chloe stares back at her expectantly, waiting for comprehension to dawn.

 

And then it does.

 

“Oh,” Beca breathes out. “You… You like me.”

 

Chloe nods wordlessly.

 

“ _Oh_.” Beca starts to nod along with her, her head feeling like it’s rocking back and forth on her shoulders. “You like me. And when you like someone…”

 

“You can kiss them,” Chloe whispers.

 

Chloe is suddenly so close, so wide-eyed, so in her face waiting. Beca swallows dryly, still a half a step behind the whole conversation. It makes sense; that’s the part that concerns her the most. She likes Chloe. She’s always liked Chloe. She was pissed when Chloe failed Russian Lit a third year but she was happy Chloe was still there, still next to her. She likes Chloe’s hugs and she likes Chloe’s forehead kisses and she likes Chloe’s bed because it’s bigger and comfier and it fits the both of them even though they cuddle tightly anyway. She likes Chloe’s laugh and her smile and her stupid giggle-dance she does when she drinks too much. She likes the way Chloe knows when she needs space and when she doesn’t, even if she says she does.

 

She likes Chloe.

 

According to Chloe’s logic, if she likes Chloe, she can kiss Chloe.

 

So she leans in, eyes closed, and presses her mouth to Chloe’s. Chloe kisses her back immediately, hands dragging from her waist to her back, holding her close. Beca pulls back for an instant, just to see. Chloe’s eyes are closed, but her mouth is parted slightly and she’s leaning forward. Beca grins to herself and leans back in.

 

\---

 

Beca watches Emily take the trash can lid from Amy and march up the stairs. She leans against the doorframe, smirking as Amy dusts herself off. An arm wraps low around her waist. She turns to see Chloe smiling at her.

 

“Look at our little Legacy,” Chloe says, beaming.

 

Beca looks back up the stairs. Emily has the lid in one hand and Cynthia Rose is giving her tips on how to hit the right angle so she doesn’t break her neck. Beca turns back to Chloe and smiles at her. “She’s so grown up, isn’t she?”

 

“They grow up so fast,” Chloe agrees. She grabs Beca’s chin and turns her head so she can kiss Beca. It’s a long, slow kiss. Beca shivers when Chloe pulls back, kissing her nose playfully.

 

“Get a room, aca-lezzies.” Amy pushes them closer together as she crowds the doorway. “I can’t have my hetero vibe washed away by you two.” She grins at them over her shoulder to let them know she’s kidding. “Proceed, Legacy!”

 

“Let’s do this!” Emily yells from the top of the stairs. She pushes off and careens down the staircase, nailing the wall hard instead of turning. She slides down face first and rolls over onto her back when she gets to the bottom. She grins up at Beca and Chloe. “How’d I do?”

 

Chloe buries her face in Beca’s neck, snorting.

 

Beca grins down at Emily. “You’ll be fine, kid.”


End file.
